BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I do. Me. COMMON SYMPTOMS OF ABUSE SURVIVORS Victoria Polin, MA, ATR, LCPC and Gail Roy, MA, ATR, LCPC 1. Low self-esteem, feeling worthless. 2. Fear of abandonment and other abandonment issues. 3. Acting out behavior. Not knowing how to identify, process and or express intense feelings in more productive ways. 4. Unexplained fears of being alone at night, nightmares and/or night terrors. . . 5. Feeling overly grateful/appreciative from small favors by others. 6. Boundary issues: lack of, needing to be in control, power issues, fear of losing control... 7. Eating disorders including: anorexia, bulimia, compulsive over-eating etc... 8. Headaches, arthritis and/or joint pain, gynecological disorders, stomach aches and other symptomology. 9. Unexplained anxiety/ panic. 10. Extreme guilt/ shame. 11. Obsessive/compulsive behaviors (not necessarily Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder). 12. History of being involved in emotionally, psychological and/or physically violent relationships (emotionally...

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU!!! This weekend my other blog got it's 500,000th hit. That's 1/2 a Million hits in the 6 years since I opened that site to the public. I am honored and awed that so many have found resources and answers there. I am moved often to tears by the thank you emails I get from women & men who found the strength and information they needed to reclaim their lives there. I started that blog in November, 2003 as a way to keep my own personal research on abuse private and out of view from people around me, including my abusive ex. As a voracious reader and a research junkie... I needed answers and I got them. Five years ago I was (for hopefully the LAST time in my life), 'emotionally & psychologically raped' by a narcissistic sociopath. A man who I had cared for more than 1/2 my life and had no idea of his true nature for 27 years. I was left feeling very used & alone with no one to trust. Particularly myself. I made a decision to open this si...